Beginning Schlesien (Silesia) Research

Alternate Place Names

Jahrhunderthalle Breslau.jpg

In the German language this province was referred to as Schlesien. The English name is Silesia and the Czech name is Slezsko. In Polish, it is now referred to as Śląsk. Prior to WWII, cities and villages used German place names and now have mostly Polish names. A useful site to help you find either the German or the Polish place name is www.kartenmeister.com . This site also gives the church jurisdiction. You may also add your name into a list of interested researchers for the locality and connect with other researchers searching there.

Description

The Prussian area known as Silesia consisted of two regions, Upper Silesia (Oberschlesien) and Lower Silesia (Niederschlesien). It was bordered on the west by Saxony, on the north by Brandenburg, on the east by Poland, and on the south by Czechoslovakia. The Sudenten Mountain range ran along its southern border. Two major rivers, the Oder and the Neisse ran through it. Two major cities were Breslau and Görlitz.

As a result of various wars, Silesia is now divided between three different countries. The largest portion of Silesia is in modern-day Poland. A small portion of southern Silesia was ceded to Czechoslovakia in 1918 and is now in the Czech Republic. In 1945 as a result of the Potsdam Conference, the line between Poland and East Germany was drawn along the Neisse river dividing Görlitz between East Germany and Poland. The portion of Görlitz that remained in Germany retained its name. The portion that went to Poland is now called Zgorzelec. The Polish name for Breslau is Wrocław.

A useful tool exists at GenWiki. The following site is very useful for research in Schlesien/Silesia.